Page 13 of Slippers and Thorns
“Curses don’t exist, Katy,” Ella chided. “Magic isn’t real.”
Katy met her gaze with a completely sober expression. “Yes, it is.”
The utter sincerity in her voice unnerved Ella. While prone to act without thinking, Katy was fairly grounded in reality. What could make her so convinced?
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Katy made an obvious effort to return to her normal cheery self. Her smile was a little forced, though. “So, do you want to see it?”
“The tragic, possibly cursed, castle?” Ella clarified.
Katy nodded. “What else? It’s poor practice to buy something sight-unseen, so you ought to at least ride out to explore it a little, see what you think of the idea.”
Ella frowned. “Can we? Surely it’s not that close.”
“It’s not that far,” Katy shrugged in return. “We’ll want to leave first thing in the morning so that we have time to look around before heading back, but it’s possible to make it a day trip.”
Ella stopped to enjoy the scent from some lilacs and to give herself time to think. She wasn’t concerned about a possible curse, but did she really want to try to talk Michael into buying an old Ralnoran castle? Did she think she could convince him to spend time with her trying to fix it up, or would it turn into yet another thing she did by herself?
Even if he did agree to buy it, and even if he did help her, could it really fix the gaping holes in their relationship?
She had her doubts.
Fingering one of the blooms, she came to a decision. Katy’s idea might not work, but a ride would be nice, especially if… “Can we take the boys?” she asked at last. “And… leave Lady Ilse behind?”
“Of course we can,” Katy replied firmly. “It would be highly improper for us to ride so far without our husbands, after all.” She winked. “And I know just how to word it to make it acceptable to exclude any and all hangers-on of the nobility.”
CHAPTER 6
Michael
I
t was a fine, brisk morning. Michael wasn’t often out and about so early; it was even rarer for him to have already spent an hour in the saddle.
He didn’t really mind, though. A light fog drifted across the hills, not yet burned away by the sun, and the crisp air made him feel alive. The birds sang more than they did later in the day; his friend Axel rode beside him; the relative silence of the open countryside soaked into him… He let a relaxed smile spread across his face. Maybe he should do this more often.
He glanced over his shoulder at Katy and Arabella. Katy was clearly enjoying the morning as he was, although her smile carried a hint of smugness for some reason. Arabella was subdued, staring off at the fog-covered hillsides as if she wasn’t really seeing them.
A small part of him felt guilty. While their current riding positions were acceptable, a little voice in the back of his head whispered that he should let Katy fill the position next to Axel, which would allow him to ride next to his own wife. He hadn’t spent much time with her since arriving at Axel’s home. The same voice scolded him for his behavior towards Lady Ilse, who, thankfully, was not present for their ride.
It wasn’t that he was particularly interested in Lady Ilse. Two weeks ago, it would never have occurred to him to grant her more than a polite greeting. She was as insincere and flighty as most female members of the nobility, but she was willing to flatter and be flattered by him. In addition, showing her attention upset Arabella, in which he took a vicious satisfaction, telling himself that it did her good to know what it felt like when he watched her with Charles.
If he was brutally honest with himself, Michael also enjoyed Lady Ilse’s return comments. Most of them were absurd, but it was pleasant to be told that he was handsome, that he had done well in his match against Axel that morning, or even that his hair looked like silk. He couldn’t remember the last time Arabella had complimented him, let alone encouraged him when he was having a rough day or praised him when he had done well.
It felt nice to be appreciated.
Of course, that didn’t change the fact that after a while, Lady Ilse’s company, like that of most noble ladies, grew a bit onerous. He was therefore glad to have a brief reprieve from all noble ladies for the day. His and Axel’s wives didn’t count; aside from the fact that they were technically royals now, not nobles, both of them began life as commoners.
Thinking of them reminded him of Helena, Axel’s younger sister who had died in an accident years ago. Even though she had been born a princess, she had burned with an internal fire that few upper-class women seemed to possess. Michael and Helena had been childhood friends, and up until she was stolen away from them, he had always vaguely assumed they would marry when they grew old enough.
Helena. He heaved an internal sigh. It had been a long time since the last time he had thought about her, but with the memory came the old ache in his heart. He missed her.
Oh, how he missed her!
He could see her wavy chestnut hair blowing in the wind as she and her horse galloped next to his, racing him across a meadow, her green eyes dancing at him. He could almost hear her laugh, so much nicer than the titters of the other girls, and her melodic alto voice, but the passing years had faded the memory, and only the picture was left now.
Michael pulled himself back to the present with an effort. It accomplished nothing to pine after what might have been except to make himself miserable.
“Why the gloomy face?” Axel asked, leaning over and prodding him with an elbow. “Wishing you were riding next to your lovely bride instead of an ugly old prince?”
